Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The Albanese government failed to prepare for a High Court decision it knew was coming for almost six months, which resulted in the release of almost 150 hardcore criminals, including rapists, murderers and paedophiles, into the Australian community. At least four of these criminals are alleged to have already reoffended, including a sex offender committing another assault and a paedophile attempting to contact minors. Will the Prime Minister apologise to the Australian people?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The High Court ruled that indefinite detention was unconstitutional, and that is now the law of the land. The government must act in accordance with the law. We argued against it, of course, but once the High Court ruled, we had no choice but to respond. Community safety is our priority, and I'm very pleased that the parliament has passed stronger laws to keep people safe. I'm pleased that they received the support of both sides of the chamber. Our actions mean we have four layers of protection: preventive detention, community safety supervision orders, electronic monitoring devices and curfews, and stringent visa conditions. Certainly, I am sorry any time someone is a victim of a crime, wherever it's committed, at any time, against any victim.